DC Universe Presents #13Review

It’s within the pages of DCU Presents #13 that we get our first look at the New 52 incarnations of Black Lightning and Blue Devil. An odd pairing to be sure, but writer Marc Andreyko takes the simple (or perhaps convenient) approach of giving overlapping investigations to the pair, though their motivations for working those cases in the first place are unclear. Ultimately though, this first chapter amounts to little more than plot setup without much character stuff, though Andreyko certainly plants the seeds at defining the “origins” of sorts for these two heroes.

Interestingly, both Jefferson Pierce and Daniel Cassidy are already acting under their superhero names, despite the plot seeming to suggest that they’ll soon be undergoing some great tragedies that will presumably provide them with hero motivation moving forward. If this is your first exposure to either character, you won’t get much in the way of an explanation of their powers or status quo, though Blue Devil fares a little better in that area.

Most of the issue explores one cliché after the next, from the fight-before-we-team-up element of superhero comics to tired lines of dialogue. Things work out better with the characters in their civilian identities, as we get some insight into the people behind the masks instead of two random heroes with similar color schemes, which at this point, seems to be the main reason they’ve been paired up in one book.

The art of Robson Rocha impresses though, particularly when he gets to cut loose on splash pages or big panels. His Blue Devil is particularly fun to look at, though some odd logistical stuff – like how the hell those horns stay erect when the mask is so clearly flimsy – might bother you. And while Rocha’s superhero elements are satisfying, they don’t mesh with the strength of the script – the civilian, “personal” scenes – so the entire dichotomy of the book feels off.

Though not the strongest of the series so far, there are enough bits and pieces to keep this team-up interesting, if not entirely engaging.